Farmers have been abandoned by the main political parties, the Independent Alliance, and a few other Independents after the amendment to the Finance Bill proposed by myself on the issue of Stamp Duty did not receive the required support this week in the Dail. Farmers are now left facing higher Stamp Duty after Fine Gael [...][Continue Reading...]

The Government, supported by the Independents and with the complicit Fianna Fail abstaining, have ignored what we considered sensible amendments to the Finance Bill on the issue of stamp duty on commercial property. It is a very disappointing result and a sign that there is little interest in the development of Rural Ireland among the [...][Continue Reading...]

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar should move to immediately appoint Josephine Fehilly, the current boss of the Policing Authority, as Secretary General of the Department of Justice. How Deputy Varadkar responds to the challenge posed by the state of chaos in the Department of Justice will define his fate as Taoiseach. He has to make big bold [...][Continue Reading...]

It is my information that a Statutory Instrument will be laid before the Dail shortly that will anul the previous Instrument that allowed the introduction of the testing of tractors and in that regard I want to publicly thank a number of people who helped make this a reality. I have spent the last three [...][Continue Reading...]

The delays in the provision of temporary operating facilities at Merlin Park Hospital are totally unacceptable and there are hundreds of operations being cancelled every month that there are no facilities there. This is a disgraceful situation and we need the temporary facilities to be fast tracked and put into use immediately. When the operating [...][Continue Reading...]

While any additional funding is welcome, the 30 million Euro announced by Minister Naughten to be put into the Post Office sector is only a sticking plaster solution and will not solve the problems in the long term. Unless a proper business plan for the sector, and particularly the establishment of a community bank is [...][Continue Reading...]

Research carried out recently by the Western Development Commission that five of the six counties with the lowest employment growth rates in the country are in the West of Ireland is no surprise to me and it’s about time the Government take the situation in rural counties and the west of Ireland in particularly seriously. [...][Continue Reading...]

I have been contacted by various farming groups over the past couple of weeks about the severe shortage of fodder eespecially in several parts of the West of Ireland and Minister Michael Creed needs to come down to the West and see for himself the problems that farmers are having in that regard and the [...][Continue Reading...]

It has come to my attention in the last few days that agricultural planners around the country are facing problems with regard to drawing down funds in relation to Glas courses and the Minister needs to address the situation immediately. Farmers get 158 Euro for spending a day doing this course and it is the [...][Continue Reading...]

With regard to the recommendations from the Citizen’s Assembly on climate change over the weekend I will be seeking clarification as to the membership of the Assembly and how many of those people have a rural or farming backround. I am asking the question just how representative of the general population are the 100 people [...][Continue Reading...]